Wireless access providers are experiencing explosive growth in data traffic due to smart phones, tablets, shared networking devices as well as new applications and services. These devices typically receive services from internet based applications and services rather than from providers' own domains.
The present provider model is one of selling access or capacity to subscribers, with plans that typically impose a monthly usage allowance. For a fixed fee, subscribers can receive content independent of the network conditions. In response, users of network capacity are sensitive to their total consumption but not sensitive to network loading levels such that bandwidth consuming applications are used independent of the impact on the network.
To satisfy user needs, access providers must build out their networks to handle large peaks in subscriber traffic. This situation is particularly problematic for the air interface, where the limited volume of traffic does not provide the same degree of statistical multiplexing as in the core network. Air interface traffic peaks typically occur only during limited time periods and on a limited number of cells. This leaves a huge amount of network data carrying capacity idle during non-peak periods and therefore not monetized.